Diana Memorial to be Large Oval Fountain

SUE LEEMAN

Published 6:00 pm, Thursday, December 5, 2002

Associated Press Writer

LONDON (AP) _ A large oval fountain commemorating Princess Diana will reflect the highs and lows of her troubled life and show her "inclusiveness and accessibility," its designer said Friday as officials released detailed plans.

"On one side the water bubbles and effervesces down a gentle slope, whereas on the other side it tumbles down, cascades, then 'rocks and rolls' from side to side in a joyous way, before turning over on itself, perhaps representing the turmoil in her life," said Kathryn Gustafson, the American landscape artist charged with creating the $4.7million memorial in London's Hyde Park.

"Both sides finally flow into a tranquil, peaceful, calm pool."

Work on the 165-by-260-foot stone ring, which has been likened to a giant necklace, is due to begin next year and be completed by the summer of 2004, seven years after Diana's death in a Paris car crash.

It has taken years to agree on building a fountain and set an eight-member Diana Memorial Committee to choose a design out of more than 60 entries. But the project became mired in controversy as the panelists disagreed over which design to choose.

Frustrated by the delays, the government stepped in, picking Gustafson's design over a daring dome of colored water designed by Bombay-born sculptor Anish Kapoor. Supporters say Gustafson's design is appropriate for a modern princess, but one critic has dubbed it "a puddle."

Royal Parks, which runs Hyde Park, will now submit the plans to Westminster City Council, which must give permission before work can begin.

Gustafson, of the design company Gustafson Porter company, said she based her design on "the qualities of the princess that were the most loved and cherished. These were inclusiveness and accessibility.

"It is an environment that you can walk into, be part of. It is … a novel use of water, that is brilliant in the sunlight, that cascades down, that you can touch and you can be interactive with and that you can become part of."

Rosa Monckton, Diana's friend and chair of the Diana Memorial Committee, said members of the public "can dip their hands in the pools and feel so included" by the fountain, which will stand near Kensington Palace, Diana's London home.